The luminosities of horizontal branches and RR Lyrae stars in globular clusters
Abstract
We have utilized the latest stellar models of the Y2 (Yonsei-Yale) collaborators and color-magnitude diagrams of globular clusters to infer ages and absolute magnitudes of their horizontal branches (HB). The intrinsic (B - V), color indices of the turn-offs, (B - V)TO0,of the globular clusters were used to find ages. For 47 clusters that appear to be coeval (within ± 0.7 Gyr), we find an average age of 12.5 Gyr. We adopt this age and infer the absolute magnitudes of the turn-offs, MTOV, from the clusters [Fe/H] values. The absolute magnitudes of the horizontal branches or RR Lyrae stars are the n determined from the difference between the apparent magnitudes of the horizontal branches (or RR Lyrae stars) and the apparent magnitude of the turn-offd, VTO. We conclude: 1) the slope of the MV(HB), [Fe/H] relation is ~0.3 for clusters with [Fe/H] values between -0.5 to -1.5. The relation has zero slope for [Fe/H] values smaller than -1.5. 2) For [Fe/H] < -1.3, the MV(HB) or MV values of RR Lyrae stars are not only a function of [Fe/H], but the horizontal-branch type in the sense that the clusters with the blue horizontal branches have more luminous horizontal branches than clusters with red horizontal branches. The same results are found by inferring the luminosities of the HBs from pulsating blue stragglers.
- Publication:
-
IAU Colloq. 193: Variable Stars in the Local Group
- Pub Date:
- May 2004
- Bibcode:
- 2004ASPC..310..525M